Treatment Foster Care Oregon: Carer Stories # Part 1

For the first time in Australia, Treatment Foster Care Oregon (TFCO) – an evidence-based, internationally successful program is providing an alternative to residential care and getting kids with problem behaviours back to a stable, family life.

Foster carers in TFCO are given specialist training and are closely guided and supervised by a professional team as they help a foster child for the six – nine month program.

One such carer shared her journey to becoming a carer to Ethan.

“When I met Ethan, he rarely attended school and had a history of antisocial behaviour. He’d reached a critical point. Either he started making different choices or he could lose his future to a life of crime. I wanted to help him, so I volunteered to be a TFCO Carer. TFCO is a specialised fostering program where people like me carer for people like Ethan for 6 to 9 months. The aim is to reunite them with their own family at the end, or prepare them for a stable life with a permanent foster family.

It was daunting, but I wasn’t alone. I had a team of highly qualified specialists guiding me. The Team Leader and School Specialist realised mainstream schools couldn’t meet Ethan’s needs so we enrolled him in a specialist school instead. In just one month he was attending full time. His absences completely stopped. We worked hard at supporting his studies and I’ll never forget how proud I felt when he passed the majority of his exams.

As Ethan’s self-esteem grew, he joined in a range of community sports and activities.He was a new person. For the first time in his life, he experienced hope. Ethan is now back living with his family and is going to school. I look forward to being part of his life going forward.

TFCO saved him.

Playing my part was the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.”

To join this pioneering program and train as a TFCO Foster Carer, contact our team today on info@tfco.org.au or 1800 870 070.